Tabitha Newman, 19, is a student at MCC's Penn Valley. She’s an active member of the school's honor society, Phi Theta Kappa (Upsilon Kappa chapter), recently promoted to Vice President of Communications, and in January, was inducted into an internship for the community leadership program, Coro.

Besides taking a full course load (graduating with her two year Associate degree in December, or early spring), working a part-time job at Raytown's Laurel Hills daycare, and being an avid volunteer in her community, Newman is getting ready to take on the opportunity of a lifetime.

Tabitha Newman

With the help of Coro, she will have the opportunity to intern at some of the city’s leading corporations, including Sprint Nextel, Inc., Hallmark Cards Inc., as well as in media outlets, non-profit organizations, labor services, and local government, as Coro focuses on "preparing individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena."

Through the non-profit, non-partisan organization, Newman will spend one week at a time, for a total of eight weeks networking, building, and polishing up on her pre-existing base of dependability, conscientiousness, and wisdom that will set the stage for her every ambition.

Home schooled throughout her primary and secondary educations, Newman entered Penn Valley with some trepidation, but her drive, brains, quiet calm, and a full scholarship have helped her carve out a niche within the Penn Valley community. She’s even been recognized on the Dean’s list.

Just how does one achieve so much in so little time?

"I don’t spend a lot of time unoccupied," says Newman, who is deeply involved in her church and family, and likes the Bronte sisters' classics, NBC’s The Office, and drawing in her spare time, something which she’s had "very little of, recently."

Spectrum wishes Newman all the success with her internship, and congratulations on her honorable promotion.

To find out more about Penn Valley's Phi Theta Kappa chapter, Upsilon Kappa, and how you can join the leaders of tomorrow, visit http://mcckc.edu/pennvalley/ptk/index.htm, or go to MCC's hope page and search Phi Theta Kappa. For more information on Coro, visit www.coro.org.

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